Inbound marketing: what is it and why should I use it to develop my business?

When it comes to business results, entrepreneurs are typically targeting mainly two aspects, which are customer loyalty and sales results. People say that a happy customer usually brings your company two new customers. On the other hand, an unhappy customer spreads bad publicity about your business, on average, to five potential customers. The numbers may vary a bit, but it is widely accepted that bad publicity spreads more and faster than the good one. We all agree that having loyal and happy customers will positively impact your sales results.

Specialists say that the marketing technique known as inbound marketing is much more effective for increasing both parameters, when compared to its outbound version.

One may ask … is this something new? And the answer would be yes and no. It’s not new as this term has been around for almost twenty years, since the late 90s, so we can’t really say it’s new. Then again, for somebody that is not using it, it is a new tool to consider.

The traditional outbound marketing strategy is to try to find customers by putting the company in front of as many people as possible. It is something more massive and less selective. Its methods include the use of billboards, press releases and print ads, among others. As it’s all about perception, some prospects feel the outbound marketing as an invasive approach.

In contrast, the inbound form draws qualified customers when they are already in the process of searching for answers to their needs, by making the company easier to find. It is about providing interesting information, improving customer experience and building trust. It is a terrific way to attract customers through ideas, matters and interactions that are relevant and helpful to them, not being interruptive. Content marketing, sponsored newsletters, blogs, events, search engine optimization (SEO) and social media are some of its methodologies.

Simply put, there are two main objectives for which inbound marketing is used: the generation of traffic on your website at first and the translation of this traffic into sales and results, in a second time. It is a methodology that is a cycle, with four steps that follow each other:

• Step 1 = Attract qualified traffic to your website via blog, social networks, videos and search engines;
• Step 2 = Convert visitors to prospects by offering and providing them with relevant and helpful content. As the inbound is more selective, you are in the process of qualifying the leads, in order to know them better, so you know what matters to them;
• Step 3 = Engage and nurture a relationship with the prospects, staying side-by-side during their visit and shopping path and finally converting them into a customer;
• Step 4 = Retain the customers and make them happy, so they will be ambassadors of your product or service. Good publicity, remember?

In times of political correctness, some may say that the outbound marketing is less suitable than the inbound, given that the former forces the product on people, whereas the latter makes the product easier to find when they need it. The same goes with services.

At the end of the day, the goal is to convert prospects into happy customers. Companies need a marketing technique that is more efficient, has better performance, is less expensive and suits better the new prospects. So, either if your business is small or big, providing products or services, locally or worldwide, the inbound marketing helps you work smarter with your money than the outbound version. Marketers say that the inbound delivers higher ROI for your business, generates more leads at a lower cost than the ones generated in outbound, which is good for your bottom-line and your brand. It’s not for nothing that three out of four marketers in the world favor an inbound approach.

The goal of this article is not to provide an extensive analysis of the inbound marketing, the techniques and reasoning behind its use and success. It is an overview about this topic, aiming to raise awareness and interest on this matter. This article is for general, indicative purpose only and should not be considered investment advice. Florida Connexion is not liable for any financial loss, damage, expense or costs arising from your investment decisions based on this article.

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